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How Long Does it Take to Incorporate $50 Million in Synergies? About 6 Months.

How Long Does it Take to Incorporate $50 Million in Synergies? About 6 Months.

Once the deal to purchase Citadel closes, employees from both companies will not have to wait too long to see if they will become part of the long-term Cumulus picture. Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey told the assembled analysts and media Monday that changes are "front-loaded". The vast majority of changes, up to 80% of them, "should take six months". The remaining changes, or synergies as Cumulus is calling them, should take up to 18 months. Dickey expects the deal to close in the third quarter of this year. And says there will be $50 million worth of synergies.

Some of the changes Citadel and Cumulus employees can expect to see include greater use of the Citadel network and wider use of the Cumulus proprietary software that include things like traffic and billing. In his presentation which you can read HERE, Dickey headlines this transaction "Cumulus plus CMP plus Citadel equals A Dynamic Platform for Value Creation". When complete Cumulus becomes the "largest pure-play public radio company. Dickey says this deal provides Cumulus an "optimal platform for further consolidation and increased vertical integration". Sounds like more is coming for Cumulus.

Dickey said there will be some stations that need to be sold off due to some crossover where both companies own stations in specific markets. He didn't specify which markets or stations would be involved but did say those stations would be placed in a trust and sold in an orderly fashion. You can see a list of all the markets, from both companies, HERE